Image courtesy of- The Dallas Wind Symphony: "Strictly Sousa" by David Lovrien - http://www.dws.org/sousa.
Congratulations! You have just been hired as the new conductor of the "President's Own" U.S. Marine Band. Before you begin your new job, you need to become familiar with the history of the Marine Band, the life of John Philip Sousa (the band's most famous conductor), and the important contributions Sousa made. In addition to this, you will also need to know the background of Sousa's March The Stars and Stripes Forever, as this is the first piece you will be conducting with the band.
It is important as a leader to be well informed. By sharing the knowledge you gain with the members of the band, you will help them to have pride in the ensemble, and in the music that they perform. Good luck in your preparation!
Your job, before you being conducting, is to gather information on different topics related to the Marine Band and John Philip Sousa. You will arrange this information, along with some pictures, on a piece of poster board to create a collage that will be put on display in the band room. You will have four different topics to research using the different web sites listed under "Resources". They are:
1. The history of the Marine Band.
2. The life of John Philip Sousa.
3. Background of Stars and Stripes Forever
4. Important contributions made by Sousa
To complete this task, follow the steps listed under "Process".
* All written work should be neatly printed in ink or typed.
1. Click on the link to the history of the Marine Band. Read about the history and write a summary of it in your own words. Include the answer to the following question in a logical place in your summary: What is the primary function of the Marine Band?
This section should be at least 2-3 paragraphs in length.2. Read the information under the three web sites that contain biographical information on John Philip Sousa. Use this information to write a summary of his life in your own words. Include the answer to the following question in a logical place in your summary: What was Sousa's first experience with the Marines, and how old was he?
This section should be at least 2-3 paragraphs in length.3. Click on the link to the background information to Stars and Stripes Forever. Read about its origin and write a summary of it in your own words. Include the answer to the following question in a logical place in your summary: What is the importance of The Stars and Stripes Forever to our country? ( Hint: look at the link to resource #5 )
This section should be at least 1 paragraph in length.4. Using information from various different web sites under "Resources", write at least 2-3 paragraphs on what you think were Sousa's most important contributions. List at least two different contributions and explain why you feel they are important, based on what you have read from the web sites.
5. After you have gathered all of the information from steps 1-4, you need to find pictures that will serve as visual representations of what you have written. You need to find at least 4 pictures, and no more than 2 of them may be of just Sousa himself. You can print pictures out from off of web sites, photocopy them out of books or magazines, or even draw them yourself. Some ideas of pictures that you may want to include are: Sousa, the Marine Band, the Sousa Band, and anything patriotic.
6. Once you have gathered all of your written information and pictures, your last step is to arrange everything in a creative fashion on a piece of poster board. You may have to do some cutting in order to get everything to fit; just make sure that the pictures are still recognizable, and that your written work is readable. Be creative, but be neat also. Make sure to include some color on your poster. Do not make it all black and white. Make use of markers, crayons, construction paper, etc.
1. History of the Marine Band (no pictures)
2. Biographical information on Sousa, and much more (several pictures)
3. Biographical information on Sousa (no pictures)
4. The Stars and Stripes Forever(a few pictures)
5. U.S. Code (no pictures)
6. The Uniqueness of Sousa, plus biographical information (a few pictures)
*This one may be useful for step 4 under "Process".7. Pictures of the Marine Band
History of the Marine Band 1. Summary is in a logical order (preferably chronological).
2. Content of summary is correct.
3. Question is answered correctly and is included in the content of the summary.
4. Appearance is neat
5. Spelling and grammar are correct.
Biographical information on John Philip Sousa 1. Summary is in a logical order (preferably chronological).
2. Content of summary is correct.
3. Question is answered correctly and is included in the content of the summary.
4. Appearance is neat
5. Spelling and grammar are correct.
Background information on The Stars and Stripes Forever 1. Summary is in a logical order (preferably chronological).
2. Content of summary is correct.
3. Question is answered correctly and is included in the content of the summary.
4. Appearance is neat
5. Spelling and grammar are correct.
Important contributions made by John Philip Sousa 1. Two contributions are listed.
2. The reasons for your choices are explained clearly, and are supported with information from the web sites.
Pictures 1. There are at least 4, and no more than 2 of them are of just Sousa himself.
2. They are related to the topics that you wrote about.
Poster 1. It is colorful.
2. It is neat (you can recognize all of the pictures and read all of the writing).
3. It is creative- Don't just glue pieces of paper in a straight line onto poster board. Make use of any stickers, glitter, markers, crayons, ect.., that you have around in order to be as creative as possible. Use your imagination!!
Image courtesy of- Dallas Wind Symphony:"Strictly Sousa" site, by David Lovrien.
http://www.dws.org/sousa/starsstripes.htm
Now it is time for your first rehearsal with your ensemble. As you step up to the podium your confidence will soar due to all of the knowledge you have to share about the history of the Marine Band, the life of John Philip Sousa, the story behind The Stars and Stripes Forever, and the important contributions of Sousa. You will also have a creative poster that you can display to show everyone what you have learned. When everyone knows this exciting history, they will take pride in what they are doing as musicians. This pride will help create the type of positive attitudes needed among members to create spectacular musical performances. Good luck as the new director of the "President's Own" U.S Marine Band, and don't forget to maintain their standard of excellence!
Introduction
Task
